Poll: Dems rise on fighting terror

The American public is split on which party can better fight terrorism - the first time Democrats have pulled even on the issue since 2007, according to a new poll Thursday.

Forty-five percent of Americans believe Democrats will do a better job of protecting the country from military threats and terrorism, the same percentage who believe Republicans will do a better job, the Gallup survey found. (The poll comes with a caveat: It was conducted during and immediately after the Democratic National Convention, and well before Tuesday and Wednesday’s attacks on American embassies in the Middle East.)

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Americans also believe Democrats will do a better job of keeping the country prosperous, with 42 percent backing the GOP compared to 51 percent for the Democrats. And on the question of which party will better handle the country’s “most important problem,” Democrats have an advantage, 49 percent to 39 percent.

The poll of 1,017 adults was conducted between September 6 and September 9 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.